Shoe tree and rack



April 19, 1938. H. R. M MlCHAEL SHOE TREE AND BACK Filed Feb. 27, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. HUGH K. MCMCHA EL a @uev ATTORNEY April 19, 1938. H.-R. M MICHAEL SHOE TREE AND RACK Filed Feb 27, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HUGH P. MacMc/mzx fl M w ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 19, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe trees and a supporting rack useable in combination therewith. Some of the objects of this invention may be noted as the following: to provide ashoe tree and rack combination whereon a shoe may be treed with substantially as little effort as would be required to place it upon a shelf; and to provide said combination adapted for firmly attaching to a wall or other means of support, and. thereafter adapted for use with substantially no manual handling or direct manipulation of any. part of said combination for the treeing on or removal therefrom of a shoe.

Other objects are: to provide a tree which will subject said treed shoe only to light stresses effective to straighten it and smooth out the vamp by adjustable resilient pressure applied at longitudinally spaced points generally perpendicularly and vertically against respectively the toe insole, vamp, and shank of said shoe; to provide side members on said tree adapted to exert adjustable resilient pressure laterally outwards against the sides of the vamp part of the shoe; to effect said treeing stresses substantially free of harmful stretching effect in the treed shoe which latter is frequently observed with the use of shoe trees most commonly used heretofore; to provide a tree with highly resilient flexible and adjustable characteristics throughout adapting it for effective but harmless use for a considerable range in size, form and weight of shoes; and having the means of said adjustments simple, non-detachable and effective in respect both to the conformation and resilient characteristics of said tree, with the iongitudinal adjustment operable even after a shoe is placed thereonand independently of the lateral adjustment.

Another object is to provide an effective, shoestraightening tree useable in detached form which, by one hand, may easily be pushed directly into a shoe held in the other hand, said operation being devoid of the hitherto common necessity of thereafter having to flex and insert a powerful spring-supported or toggle-jointed member.

Other objects are to provide the aforesaid advantageous characteristics, insaid tree and rack in a design having very few parts, each and all suitable for quantity production, light in weight and low in cost. Other advantages will become apparent.

Illustrating my invention are the drawings herewith in which 7 Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a horizontal wallrack combination having a pair of shoe trees;

Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a shoe tree mounted on a short length of wall-rack;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the shankspring ratchet slide partly in section;

Fig. 5 is a reduced front elevation of the device arranged for a vertically-extending rack;

Fig. 6 is a plan of Fig. 5; V

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the shoe tree in another mode provided with adjustable side members;

Fig. 8 is a partial plan looking upward to Fig. 7; and I Fig. 9 is a cross-section taken on the line 9--9 of Fig. 7. g

Referring to the drawings, a shoe-tree body I is provided with a forward part I I having the shoe-contact surfaceslZ and I3 adapted respectively to contact downward on the toe-end insole (contact l2) and upward against the vamp (contact l3) of a treed shoe. Said body H! has the rearwardly-extending arm part l4 notched on its lower side to form the ratchet teeth I 5.

The rear end l6 of said arm 14 is adapted for fixed mounting in the socket I 1 of the supporting rack-arm l8 extending crosswise from the mounted shoe-tree to a fixed attachment on the rack 20 which latter may carry a plurality of said rack arms suitably spaced on its length. Said rack 20 may be screwed to a supporting wall or wardrobe door 22 or provided with other means of support.

A longitudinally extending highly flexible spring shank member 25 is attached at its forward end 25a to the lower side of said body toeend H, and at its rear end 25b is attached to an encircling ratchet pawl slide 2'! which latter loosely encircles said notched arm M for adjustably positioned support thereon. Said slide 21 is provided on its lower rear part with the pawl projection 28, adapted to engage upward with one of said ratchet teeth l5, and the forwardly spaced upper fulcrum part 29 of said encircling slide 21, adapted to contact downward on the top of said arm l4. Under resilient pressure exertable by said attached shank-spring 25, said slide pivots downward on its said forward fulcrum part 29 therebyrotating its rearward pawl part 28 up into engagement with said arm teeth adapted to prevent rearward movement of said engaged ratchet slide 21. A user may readily disengage said pawl to allow it resiliently to move rearward, or by a direct push he may slide it forward against the pressure of said shank spring.

In fully extended position to the rear, said shank spring 25 will resiliently flatten out and lie generally parallel and but slightly stressed adjacent the underside of said body [6. As said slide 21 is ratcheted adjustably forward, it will force said spring shank 25 into an increasingly stressed generally semi-elliptical form which in its mid-length 30 is adapted to contact downward against the shank part of a treed shoe. In its extreme forward position said spring 25 will approximate the form illustrated by dotted lines 3| (see Fig. 1).

The arrangement as shown in Fig. 1 is for treeing a pair of shoes with latter positioned respectively heel-to-heel, and it is adapted for use only in a horizontal position. If it were turned to the vertical, one of the shoes would fall off. The shoe also positions generally horizontally and is entirely supported, against gravity and the downward pressures of the shank contact 30 and the toe contact I2, by means of the upwardly pressing vamp contact I3. Most of the shoe cantilevers back from said supporting contact I3, and the weight thus overhung tends to straighten the shoe and thereby materially reduces the shoe-straightening force otherwise required from said shank spring 25 contacting the shoe shank at 30. This effect is highly advantageous in permitting the use of a lighter spring, and particularly so in requiring less resiliently exerted pressure thereby minimizing the tendency (which would exist with a stronger spring) to apply so much resilient pressure to a shoe as injuriously to over-straighten and distort it. j

Said tree may also be used unmounted in which case a knob or loop may be attached on the arm end I6 for convenience'in grasping manually.

In another arrangement (see Figs. 5 and 6) the device may be constructed with a vertically extending rack 33 provided with a plurality of vertically-spaced said rack-arms l8 adapted to carry said shoe-tree bodies 10 extending alternately to the right and to the left.

While I have shown said spring 25 as being firmly attached at the toe-end and adjustably attached at the always-accessible rear end, in respect simply to adjustment the arrangement is obviously reversible, and the rear end could-be firmly attached and the forward'end made adjustably positioning.

In another mode laterally resilient body 46 is provided with the forward part- 4| having the shoe-contact surfaces 42 and 43 adapted respectively to contact downward on the toe-end insole (contact 42) and upward against the vamp (contact 43) of a treed shoe. Said body 46 has the rearwardly extending arm part 44 notched on its lower side to form the ratchet teeth 45 engageable with the arm-encircling ratchet slide 46 attached to the rear-end of the shank spring 41 adapted at its fiexed middle part 47a to contact downward against the shank part of a shoe, and screwed at its forward end 411) on the projecting lug 50 on the underside of said body forward part 4!. arm 44 may be mounted on a fixed rack support and adjustable (see Figs. 1, 8, and 9) the shoe tree The rear-end of said (see Fig. 3) or it may be provided with a knob 52 adapted for conveniently handling the tree when not mounted.

Diifering from said shoe-tree body [0 of Fig. 1, the body 40 (see Figs. 7, 8, and 9) is provided with the hinged sides 66 each attached at the upper edge by the hinge members 6| and 62, each of said hinged sides being independently adjustably resiliently moveable inwardly as indicated by position lines 60a and outwardly as indicated by lines 6012. Said sides 60 are provided with the inwardly-extending rearwardly-positioned perforated lugs 65 engaging the rear-ends of the wish-bone wire spring 66 whose forward ends loosely encircle said body lug 50 'and is retained loosely in place thereabout by the underlying said screwed-on shank spring end 4117. Extending across between the sides of said spring 66 is the adjusting member 10 whose encircling end parts H and 12 are longitudinally adjustably positioned on said spring 66 by means. of the slidable resilient split-ring clinch collars I3. Said adjusting member part II is threaded to engage the sleeve nut 14 also slidably engaged by the ball-end 15 of said part 12.

In use, said lateral adjustment is workable (a) by a variable longitudinal positioning of one or both ends of said adjustment member 10 along the sides of said wish-bone spring 66; (b) by means of said sleeve nut 14 adapted to limit the maximum width of the tree while permitting a resiliently-resisted narrowing thereof; and (c) by permitting said hinged sides 60 to position themselves, relative to the longitudinal axis of the tree body 40, adaptably for either right or left shoes. The advantages of the foregoing are found by test to be substantial, and especially in said tree having also the separately-adjustable longitudinal shoe-straightening means.

The longitudinal straightening with my tree is done by means of lightly exerted pressures perpendicularly applied at three spaced points along the lengthof the shoe, and an effective straightening de-wrinkling tension is thus exerted on the shoe vamp while completely avoiding the useless harmful longitudinal stretching of the whole shoe as frequently produced by other types of trees.

The adjustable resiliently pressing side members need exert only a very light lateral pressure.

ing the stitching in a shoe while accomplishing no good purpose not harmlessly secured by my lightly laterally-pressing tree.

I have found that various modifications, substitutions and transpositions may be made in the preferred construction of my device herein set forth, and others may occur to those skilled in mechanical arts. justment of the resilient characteristics and form of spring, various mechanical details including slidable levers or Wedges,'rotatable eccentrics and others are adaptable, some of such alternatives For instance, for obtaining adbeing disclosed in my pending application Ser. No. 69,679 of March 19, 1936. a i

Having described a novel'shoe tree, optionally in combination withsupporting means, adapted for use with an ease and convenience which I have been unable to discover elsewhere, I wish to claim broadly the principlesof construction pertaining thereto. r

WhatIclaim is: l 1 f 1. A shoe straightening tree comprising a longitudinally-extending body; contact surfaces on said body adapted to contact downward against the toe insole and upward against the vamp of a treed shoe; a flexible spring member attached at its ends to said body, and in its middle part adapted to exert resilient pressure downward on the shank of a treed shoe; and means including a ratchet device whereby one of said attached ends may be longitudinally adjustably positioned on said body.

2. A shoe straightening tree comprising a longitudinally-extending body; contact surfaces on said body adapted to contact downward against the toe insole and upward against the vamp of a treed shoe; a flexible spring member attached at its ends to said body, and in its middle part adapted to exert resilient pressure downward on the shank of. a treed shoe; and means including a ratchet device whereby one of said attached ends may be longitudinally adjustably positioned on said body; said spring member being adapted also to exert resilient pressure for holding said ratchet device in engagement.

3. A shoe straightening tree comprising a longitudinally-extending body; contact surfaces on said body adapted to contact downward against the toe insole and upward against the vamp of a treed shoe; a generally semi-elliptic longitudinally-extending spring member attached at its ends to said body and in its middle part adapted to exert resilient pressure downward on the shank of a treed shoe; and means including a ratchet device whereby one of said attached ends may be longitudinally adjustably positioned on said body.

4. A shoe straightening tree comprising a longitudinally-extending body; contact surfaces on said body adapted to contact downward against the toe insole and upward against the vamp of a treed shoe; a generally semi-elliptic longitudinally-extending spring member attached at its ends to said body and in its middle part adapted to exert resilient pressure downward on the shank of a treed shoe; and means including a ratchet device whereby one of said attached ends may be longitudinally adjustably positioned on said body; said spring member being adapted also to exert resilient pressure for holding said ratchet device in engagement.

5. A shoe straightening tree comprising a longitudinally-extending body; contact surfaces on said body adapted to contact downward against the toe insole and upward against the vamp of a treed shoe; an extending arm part of said body adapted to the generally rigid support thereof from external supporting means; a generally semi-elliptic longitudinally-extending spring member having one end attached near the forward end of said body, adapted in its mid-length to exert pressure contact downward on the shank of a treed shoe; and ratchet means attached to the rear end of said spring, slidably mounted on said arm.

6. In a shoe straightening tree and wall rack combination comprising a shoe tree adapted to be inserted in a shoe and to make therein longitudinally-spaced pressure contacts respectively downward on the toe end and the shank part, and upward on the vamp of a treed shoe; a rear ward-1y extending arm part of said tree; I a wall rack having an outwardly extending rack-arm adapted to the fixed support of saidtree-arm'with said tree occupying a generally horizontal position wherein a treed shoe may be supported against gravitation by said vamp contact, with the overhanging rear part of said shoe gravitationally exerting a shoe-straightening force in cooperation with the like force exerted by said downward pressure contact on said shoe shank.

7. A shoe tree having a central longitudinallyextending body part, adapted to be inserted in a shoe; side contact members hinged to said body enabled to swing about longitudinally extend.-

ing axes to press adaptably against the vamp sides of said shoe; spring means adapted to exert resilient pressure outwards on said hinged members; and means adapted to limit the outward spreading movement of and between said hinged members.

8. A shoe tree having a central longitudinallyextending body part, adapted to be inserted in a shoe; side contact members hinged to said body enabled to swing about longitudinally extending axes to press adaptably against the vamp sides of said shoe; spring means adapted to exert resilient pressure outward on said hinged members; and means adapted adjustably to limit the outward spreading movement of and between said hinged members.

9. A shoe tree having a central longitudinallyextending body part, adapted to be inserted in a shoe; side contact members hinged to said body enabled to swing about longitudinally extending axes to press adaptably against the vamp sides of said shoe; spring means adapted to exert resilient pressure outward on said hinged members; and means of adjustment acting on said spring means adapted to control the resilient pressure characteristic thereof.

10. A shoe tree adapted to be inserted in a shoe for the smoothing straightening thereof comprising vertically acting contact parts adapted respectively to exert downward pressures on the toe-end insole and the shank part, and upward pressure on the vamp part of a treed shoe; side contact members of said tree hinged thereon to swing about longitudinally extending axes, enabled to exert lateral pressure adaptably on the vamp sides of said shoe; spring means affecting all said contacts adapted to sustain thereon resilient pressure; and means of adjustment acting on said spring means adapted to control the resilient pressure characteristics thereof.

11. A shoe tree adapted to be inserted in a shoe for the smoothing straightening thereof comprising vertically acting contact parts adapted respectively to exert downward pressures on the toe-end insole and the shank part, and upward pressure on the vamp part of a treed shoe;

side contact members of said tree hinged thereon 14. A shoe tree having a central longitudinallyextending body part, adapted to be inserted in a shoe; side contact parts of said tree enabled to swing out laterally to press adaptably against the vamp sides of said shoe; spring means adapted to exert resilient pressure outward on said side parts; and means of adjustment acting on said spring means adapted to control the resilient pressure characteristics thereof.

HUGH R. MACMICHAEL. 

